India’s Mars probe has fuel for extended mission (EarthSky.org)

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India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was expected to end on March 24. But it turns out that the probe could have another 6 months of life left in it.

By Srinivas Laxman, sen.com

India’s first visit to the Red Planet, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), could have another six months of life left in it, according to officials from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

The USD $71 million mission, launched on November 5, 2013, had a planned six-month life span once in orbit. The probe entered the Martian atmosphere on September 24, 2014 and was due to complete its mission yesterday (March 24). However, according to ISRO, and confirmed by science minister Jitender Singh in Parliament last week (March 17), MOM has 37 kgs of reserved fuel left which could allow it to operate for another six months.

For ISRO scientists the news about the extended life of MOM has become a moment to celebrate because it gives them an opportunity to carry out deeper research into various aspects of the Red Planet, particularly about its atmosphere and climate. It may be recalled that recently one of MOM’s five payloads, the Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM) recorded radiation from the surface of Mars which reflected the Sun’s radiation back into space, during its hunt for methane.

Fuel estimates provided to Sen by ISRO reveal that at launch it had 850 kgs of fuel, and a total of 813 kgs were consumed for various maneuvers. For example, 338.9 kgs of fuel were consumed during the launch phase of the mission. During the critical trans Martian insertion on the night of Dec. 1, 2013—the moment when MOM entered the Martian highway—it used nearly 190 kgs of fuel. To fly the nearly 680 million kms to the Red Planet it hardly used any fuel. For the much-awaited Mars orbit insertion on September 24, 2014, 249.5 kgs of fuel were consumed.
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more: http://earthsky.org/space/indias-mars-probe-has-fuel-for-extended-mission

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